Built environment raw material extraction poses nature risk, highlights report
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommends policies to curb demand for construction materials from quarries, forests and steel mills.
Zurich’s public procurement programme, since 2005, has required a minimum amount of recycled concrete in all public building projects
© Sean Pavone/ShutterstockThe study examines circular economy policies in Brussels, Belgium; London, UK; Paris, France; and Zurich, Switzerland.
It finds that efforts to extend building lifespans and reduce the need for new raw material extraction, such as through demolition moratoriums and renovation support schemes, will have the greatest positive effect on ecosystems, minimising nature loss.
The IUCN also suggests mandating the use of recycled and secondary materials in new construction projects to incentivise innovation in the sector while reducing extraction pressures upstream.
According to the report, the construction sector uses more than 40% of the world’s raw materials, adding that residential and commercial development affects up to 28,996 species, nearly half of which risk extinction. Mining and quarrying for construction materials, meanwhile, threaten a further 14,000 species.
Highlighting case studies, the study reports that Zurich’s public procurement programme requires a minimum amount of recycled concrete in all public building projects.
